Sandra the oldest of three, was seven when she protected her mother against her father's fury, helping her escape the house in the midst of winter, and later retrieving her through an open window. They had just moved to the isolated mountains of West Virginia to begin their new life. A city girl, Sandra soon lost herself in the magic of long, hot summer days full of discovery, from rope swinging into the clear river, to catching minnows, all the while navigating around her unpredictable father. Then her mother, pregnant again, went to the hospital to give birth-only to return without the baby.

For the next ten years her family traveled across the country from West Virginia to California and back again in search of stability, each destination holding out the elusive promise of "making it." As we travel with Sandra and her family on their cross- country journey, we come realize that in chasing the dream, they are actually running from reality. The truth about the mysterious death of the baby gradually unfolds as Sandra grows up. Her dogmatic belief in her lost sister propels her into a realm of magic that proves to be more powerful than a childish dream. It's real.